The Payette National Forest surrounds McCall with 2.3 million acres of rugged, forested, and remote land. This spectacular land is bordered by two of the deepest canyons in North America - the Salmon River Canyon on the north and Hells Canyon of the Snake River on the west. On the eastern border is the Frank Church Wilderness area covering 2.4 million acres, the largest wilderness in the lower 48 states.

Mining has seen booms and busts since gold was discovered in Warren Meadow in 1862. During the late 1800's, up to 1200 Chinese lived in the Warren Area, building terraced gardens unique to Idaho.

The forest has wonderful campgrounds with parking spurs, tables, fire rings, cooking grills, drinking water and restrooms. There are plenty of opportunities for day hikes, backpacking, fishing, rock climbing, river running, swimming and wildlife viewing (including some endangered species such as the gray wolf, Chinook salmon, bald eagle and peregrine falcon). Since the forest is blanketed with snow from November to May, winter sports abound with skiing, snowmobiling, and snow play.